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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Exodus 12

Another long chapter, and a strange ending for a number of reasons. The reading of בו - I have rigidly rendered as in it. It is like a refrain in the last several verses. There are 365 occurrences of this word and to date I have never rendered it with the preposition of. This says to me that these verses are a different style of speech. The normal way of phrasing of it or from it as a separate word would be ממנו (e.g. in verse 9).

These verses are exclusive and excluding. There is some tension between these and my own biases about exclusion and inclusion. They may well remain unresolved and possibly even unwritten. The set of verses are even self-contradictory. I won't forget them. We will see how initial impressions shape up against the rest of the canon in due course.

... Assuming I live long enough to finish this project - i.e., if the Most high can put up with me. Today the power went out, but fortunately (is there such a thing?) I had decided to barbecue and turning the spit by hand, the meal I prepared for a stranger, an outsider, was not impacted by the power outage. The רוח blew so hard that it blew a picture from its glass frame. It fell and marked the fir floor, and I had to stop and pick up the pieces. What other shoe will drop?

You will note the fearsome character of Yahweh in this passage. You can hear echoes of Easter services taken from this chapter. Notice the division of the chapter by the phrase in this selfsame day. As Herbert notes in his poem, Easter, there is but one and that one ever.

And the blood will be for you for a sign over the houses where you are, for I will see the blood and I will pass over you.
And there will not be plague among you to destroy, when I strike in the land of Egypt.

Seven days you will eat unleavened bread. Surely on the first day you will eradicate yeast from your houses.
If anyone eats leaven, that being will be cut off from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day.

And on the first day, a holy convocation and on the seventh day, a holy convocation it will be for you.
Any line of work you will not do in them. But what is for eating for everyone, that alone may be done for you.

And you will take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that in the threshold, and touch the lintel and both jambs from the blood that was in the threshold,
and you, none will go out from the door of its house until morning.

And Yahweh will pass through to plague Egypt and will see the blood on the lintel and on both jambs,
and Yahweh will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer to come into your houses for plague.

That you will say, The offering of Passover it is, of Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he plagued Egypt, and our houses he delivered.
And the people bowed the head and they worshiped.

And it was in the middle of the night that Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the captive that was in the house of the pit,
and all the firstborn of beast.

And they baked the dough that they brought out from Egypt into pancakes of unleavened bread, for it was not leavened,
because they were expelled from Egypt and they were not able to linger, and moreover they had not made victuals for themselves.

And when a guest resides with you and will do the Passover of Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised and then he may approach to do it, and he will be as a native of the land.
So any fore-skinned will not eat in it.

3c

4B

36
7

תּוֹרָ֣ה אַחַ֔ת יִהְיֶ֖ה לָֽאֶזְרָ֑ח
וְלַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם

49

One instruction there will be for the native,
and for the guest residing in your midst.